Latest Client News: Great New Law Firm

We’re very excited to announce the launch of a new law firm: Walden Macht & Haran LLP. We’re happy to be working with them. We’ve worked with Jim Walden in the past, most recently including the NYU expansion case, where he has played a major role in advocating on behalf of NYUFASP and others who oppose the ridiculous plan. The new firm, which features some real heavy hitters, will be covering an ambitious array of practice areas, including Good Government and Civil Rights Litigation. We wish them all the best.

Former Federal Prosecutors Launch New Litigation Firm with Focus on Government Investigations, White Collar Criminal Defense, and Complex Civil Litigation

(New York, NY) February 23, 2015 – Three former federal prosecutors, Jim Walden, Timothy Macht, and Sean Haran, have joined forces to form a new law firm specializing in government investigations, White Collar criminal defense, and complex civil litigation. Based in lower Manhattan, Walden Macht & Haran LLP marshals the founders’ diverse and extensive trial and other litigation experience, both as federal prosecutors and in private practice at major national and international law firms.

All three partners served as Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Eastern District of New York. Walden, a nine year veteran of the office, served as Chief of the Computer Crimes & Intellectual Property Section and Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime & Racketeering Section. Walden’s work prosecuting members of the Bonanno crime family and other organized-crime figures is featured in the National Geographic series “Inside the American Mob.” Macht served in the Public Integrity Section, where he brought a series of successful public corruption and health care fraud cases, and worked as a Special Assistant and Counsel in the U.S. Justice Department’s policy development office. Haran spent eight years with the office and served as Deputy Chief of the Business & Securities Fraud Unit, where he oversaw a series of prominent fraud cases.

“This is my dream team,” said Walden. “Throughout our careers, we have tried the tough cases, handled investigations around the world, and helped boards and management navigate dangerous shoals with stunning results. Together we will challenge the notion that corporations must employ the largest firms to handle bet-the-company matters.”

Each partner brings extensive private practice experience in criminal and civil arenas. Walden has conducted dozens of internal investigations for public and private companies, including many cross-border investigations, and defended corporate executives and other individuals. Walden also represented companies and individuals in a range of civil cases, including in disputes with city agencies. Prior to founding the firm, Walden was a partner with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, where he served as Co-Chair of the White Collar Defense & Investigations practice for seven years.

“In my experience, Jim approaches every problem creatively, gives thoughtful guidance, and keeps a clear-eyed focus on his client’s goals,” said Dan Cahill, former president, Viking Global Investors LLP. “There has been no problem too knotty for him to unwind. Even in a crisis, Jim solves problems.”

“Tim is a smart, creative, and thorough attorney – he has been enormously helpful in some of Cablevision’s most complex matters,” said David Ellen, executive vice president and general counsel, Cablevision Systems Corporation.

Haran has tried numerous White Collar cases in federal and state courts, and in federal administrative proceedings. He has represented some of the world’s leading companies and their executives, as well as prominent individuals, in high-stakes and sensitive matters involving the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and other federal and state agencies. Prior to joining the firm, he was a partner with Nixon Peabody in New York.

“Sean cuts to the chase…he pays attention to the important details, yet always keeps perspective on the big picture,” said Jacob Schatz, senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, Electronic Arts, Inc. (EA). “He is steadfast and reliable and I trust him implicitly.”

In addition to the firm’s more traditional engagements, the firm will continue Walden’s work holding government agencies accountable for fraud, waste, and abuse. Over a ten-year period, Walden has brought successful suits against federal, state, and local government agencies for illegal or arbitrary actions or policies. The cases have covered a broad range of subjects, including land use, government procurement, public parkland, voting rights, public benefits, health care, and tax. Most recently, Walden waged a year-long fight against the illegal closure of Brooklyn’s Long Island College Hospital. After intense litigation, Walden negotiated a settlement that helped maintain emergency medical services at the site. In a 2014 press conference at City Hall, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio praised Walden’s work on this case:

“If there is magic in the law, Jim Walden has found it,” Mayor de Blasio said. “We sometimes seemed out of options and Jim Walden would typically burst into the room and come up with a new option. And…his options had the extraordinary tendency to work.”

The founding partners are joined by three other lawyers: Brian Mogck, Yeeta Yeger, and Devon Little. Mogck, a Senior Associate who clerked for a federal judge and spent over seven years in the White Collar practice at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, brings substantial litigation experience in both civil and criminal cases. Yeger, a Senior Associate, brings first-chair trial experience gained during her three-year position with the Kings County District Attorney’s office, where she served after a four-year stint with Gibson Dunn’s White Collar practice. Little, an associate who joins from Nixon Peabody, is a white collar, regulatory defense, and civil litigation specialist. Adam Minchew, a graduate of Hamilton College, is the firm’s paralegal.